Sasol South Africa Limited and Air Liquide Large Industries have invited bids to procure 1,800 GWh per annum of solar and wind power from independent power producers under the first tranche of their ‘Renewable Energy Implementation Program’ in South Africa. Of the total capacity, Air Liquide aims to source 1200 GWh per annum while Sasol looks to procure 600 GWh per annum. The independent power producers will be responsible for the design, finance, build, own, operate, and maintain these renewable energy facilities. Each of the projects must have a generation capacity of at least 200 GWh per annum and have targeted commercial operations date from March 2023 to December 2024. The deadline for submission of the bids is May 21, 2021.
To be eligible, the bidder must have been carried out development, financing, design, construction, commissioning, operation, maintenance, and administration of at least 10 solar and wind power projects. The bidder must have been directly involved in the project either as an engineering, procurement, and construction contractor or as a project developer in the last ten years. Further, each of the solar and wind facilities must have had a minimum capacity of 40 MW.
In March 2021, South Africa launched its fifth renewable energy bidding window to procure 2.6 GW of clean energy projects. Out of the total capacity, 1.6 GW will be sourced from wind, and 1 GW will be sourced from solar projects under South Africa’s renewable energy independent power producer procurement program. In August 2020, Sasol issued a request for a proposal to develop two solar projects of 10 MW at its Secunda and Sasolburg facilities.